Madison News Roundup

Football, soccer, and baseball fields, along with walking and bird-watching trails and a play area for children are the cornerstones of three proposals for the development of Griswold Airport if voters approve the planned purchase of the property at a January referendum. The proposals were presented by architect Duo Dickinson, who developed them free of charge in conjunction with the Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the Madison Beach and Recreation Department. In September, the TPL contracted with developer Leyland Alliance LLC to buy the 42-acre property for $9.7 million. The TPL has said it will spend $1.7 toward the purchase, and the town would be responsible for the remaining $9 million, which includes $1 million to cover demolition and development costs on the site. The referendum on the purchase is now scheduled for Monday, January 26. The original December date was changed after the TPL asked Leyland Alliance for an extension to get more information out to the public. Leyland has said that if the sale falls through it will proceed with its plans to build a 127-unit adult living facility on the property for people 55 and older on the site. See the details of the Griswold development plans in Amanda Pinto’s story in the Register.

Peter Manko, who received 31 write-in votes for Madison first selectman in last week’s election, says that it’s time for the town to consider a town manager form of government. Manko said he realizes the town charter would have to be changed to allow the hiring of a town manager, but that he thinks the time has come. Read Marianne Sullivan’s account at Zip06.

Absenteeism in Madison, CT public schools continues to decline, and, in an email to parents, Schools Superintendent David J. Klein said that the “absenteeism rates continue to be favorable and appear to reflect a leveling trend.” The student absence data for this week is as follows:

Monday, November 9th: 6.3%
Tuesday, November 10th: 5.3%
Wednesday, November 11th: 5.4%

Those figures are less then half of what the absenteeism rates were during the same period last week, when they ranged from 13% to 14.6%.

Klein said that staff absenteeism rates also are not abnormally high.

“Perhaps the positive aspect of this early flu and cold season is our heightened awareness of the importance of washing our hands, proper coughing and sneezing hygiene and staying home if we are feeling really sick,” Klein said.

RJ Julia is launching an expanded online version of the store’s “Just the Right Book!” gift book program (www.JusttheRightBook.com), which allows customers to go online to purchase a year’s worth of books for children or adults from JusttheRightBook.com and have them shipped monthly, bimonthly, or quarterly. “This is a way to leverage what RJ Julia does, give it better scale, and allow it not just to survive but thrive,” RJ Julia owner Roxanne Coady told Publishers Weekly. Coady sees this as one way to grow an independent bookstore organically. Part of what distinguishes JusttheRightBook.com, she noted, is that it was designed to replicate the in-store experience of being waited on by a knowledgeable bookseller. Gift buyers fill out a profile that helps RJ Julia’s staff choose books that they will enjoy. The recipient can go online and change their profile. They can also let JusttheRightBook.com know if they’ve read a review or heard about a book that they’d like to substitute. Read more at Publishers Weekly.

The writing had been on the wall for a while, but now it’s official: Pilot Pen is ending its sponsorship of the annual professional tennis tournament in New Haven. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the tournament, suffering from dwindling attendance in recent years, will go away — tournament officials say they are seeking another sponsor. The event will be around at least another year, as Pilot Pen’s sponsorship agreement runs through the August 2010 tournament. The company, which had sponsored the event since 1996, attributed it’s decision to the recession and its impact on office product sales in particular. Read more in the New Haven Register.

H1N1 flu shots will be available in the Dining and Assembly Hall of Daniel Hand High School in Madison CT from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, November 10, but with some important restrictions:

* By appointment only
* Expected capacity 200 doses of injectible vaccine
* Population served: (Region 21 residents: Madison, Guilford, Branford, North Branford, East Haven)

ONLY THE FOLLOWING TARGET POPULATIONS WILL BE ELIGIBLE
• Pregnant women
• Household contacts and direct caregivers of children less than 6 months old
• Children from 6 months to 4 years old
• Children and young adults to age 18 who have underlying medical conditions that put them at risk of serious complications from flu

HIGH RISK MEDICAL CONDITIONS INCLUDE:
• Chronic pulmonary Diseases such as Asthma
• Cardiovascular Diseases or Abnormalities
• Renal Disorders
• Hepatic Disorders
• Cognitive Disorders
• Neurologic/Neuromuscular Disorders
• Hematological Disorders
• Metabolic Disorders such as Diabetes Mellitus
• Immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus)
• Children receiving long-term aspirin therapy and therefore might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection

Location:
Daniel Hand High School
Dining and Assembly Hall
286 Green Hill Road
Madison, CT 06443

To make a reservation:
Call 245,5681 weekdays from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

Additional Details:
Upon arrival your reservation will be confirmed and you will screened by a nurse and be offered medical counseling if appropriate. You will be directed to a form completion area and then to one of the vaccination areas to be vaccinated. Families will proceed together. Before coming, please insure that the upper arm area of those to be vaccinated is bare.

A form will be completed for each person to be vaccinated. It will save considerable time if you complete the form before coming to the clinic. Please fill out the top of the form using all upper case letters. Some parts of the form may need to be filled out by hand. For each person to be vaccinated, fill out the parts of the form that you can on your screen and print it. You will not be able to save the changes you made to the form. You can download the form at:

http://www.madisonct.org/Health_Dept/flu/forms/h1n1form.pdf

Note: No one who has a fever or is experiencing flu-like symptoms will be vaccinated. We will take temperatures randomly and if any one’s health is in doubt. If parents or guardians who accompany children to be vaccinated are experiencing any flu-like symptoms or have a fever, they will be given a surgical mask to wear while in the clinic. No one who is seriously ill should attend the clinic.

Another full slate of activities in Madison, CT this weekend:

SATURDAY:
8:30-10 a.m., Hammonasset State Park and Beach — Fall Migration Bird Walks at Hammonasset. The Audubon Shop, located at 907 Boston Post Road in Madison, CT will kick off the 23rd Annual Fall Bird Walk series at Hammonasset State Park and Beach from 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. on Saturday Sept. 12. Participants will see migratory shorebirds, songbirds, and birds of prey at one of the premier birding areas in Connecticut. Beginners are welcome. You are urged to bring binoculars, although rentals are available. The walks will be conducted each Saturday through Nov. 21. Participants meet at The Audubon Shop, at 7:50 a.m. and carpool to the park. There is a $4 charge per person. For more information, call 203-245-9056, or visit the Audubon Shop website.
9 a.m.-5 p.m., 167 Neck Road Madison — Fair Earth Bazaar. Ends at 3 p.m. Sunday, November 8. (203 245 0401) www.mercybythesea.org krista@mercybythesea.org New England’s largest Fair Trade marketplace, the 4th Annual Fair Earth Bazaar, offersthousands of unique, beautiful and reasonably priced items–jewelry, accessories, baskets, clothing, home goods, food and much more. Handcrafted by artisans in dozens of developing nations in Africa, the Pacific Rim, Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America, all items will be Fair Trade, ensuring that workers enjoy fair wages and fair working conditions.
9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., Tuxis Lumber, 85 Bradley Road, Madison, CT – The Boy Scouts Want to Save You Money! Madison CT Boy Scouts of America Troop 491 hold their annual Discount Car Wash Ticket Fund Raiser on four days at four different locations starting 10/31/09. How often are you able to help a values-based organization training tomorrow’s leaders and save money on the car wash services you will want all winter long? Our friends at the Professional Auto Car Wash at 1336 Boston Post Rd. in Madison allow Troop 491 to sell books of Car Wash Discount Coupons for Professional’s Regular Car Wash option ($8.00/wash retail).
10 a.m.-2 p.m., Griswold Airport — Tour of the Griswold Airport/Madison Landing property. Tour of the Griswold Airport/Madison Landing property — guided by Patrick Comins, Audubon Connecticut’s Director of Bird Conservation, and Heather Crawford, a member of the Madison Conservation Commission.
2 p.m., RJ Julia — Mike Lupica. Mike Lupica returns to R.J. Julia to talk about his newest, Million-Dollar Throw, the story of 13-year-old Nate Brodie and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to win big money at a Patriots game.
4 p.m., 28 Durham Road Madison, CT — Tea Tasting at Savvy Tea. www.savvyteagourmet.com – Come learn and explore the world of leaf specialty teas. Compare and taste 10-12 teas either by tea type – Whites, Greens, Oolongs, Blacks, Pu’er’s or Herbals and Uncaffeinated OR by Country.
5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., 1271 Durham Road (at the Circle) Madison, CT – The North Madison Congregational Church Annual Harvest Dinner will have two seatings 5:30 pm and 7:00 pm. Seats fill up quickly, so get your reservations in quickly by contacting Debbie Gilbert gilberts8@hotmail.com or 203-421-4560. Parties of 5 or more should send payment in advance to NMCC Harvest Dinner, 1271 Durham Road, Madison, CT 06443. Cost is $15 per person, $13 Seniors, $7 children under 12, and $12 for our generous take-out meal (back by popular demand).
7 p.m., RJ Julia — Irene Pepperberg. Think your animal is smart? Research scientist Irene Pepperberg’s parrot could add, sound out words, and say “I love you.” Pepperberg presents Alex & Me, her story of this remarkable bird.

SUNDAY:
9 a.m.-3 p.m., 167 Neck Road Madison — Fair Earth Bazaar. (203 245 0401) www.mercybythesea.org krista@mercybythesea.org New England’s largest Fair Trade marketplace, the 4th Annual Fair Earth Bazaar, offersthousands of unique, beautiful and reasonably priced items–jewelry, accessories, baskets, clothing, home goods, food and much more. Handcrafted by artisans in dozens of developing nations in Africa, the Pacific Rim, Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America, all items will be Fair Trade, ensuring that workers enjoy fair wages and fair working conditions.
9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., CVS, 613 Boston Post Road, Madison, CT – The Boy Scouts Want to Save You Money! Madison CT Boy Scouts of America Troop 491 hold their annual Discount Car Wash Ticket Fund Raiser on four days at four different locations starting 10/31/09. How often are you able to help a values-based organization training tomorrow’s leaders and save money on the car wash services you will want all winter long? Our friends at the Professional Auto Car Wash at 1336 Boston Post Rd. in Madison allow Troop 491 to sell books of Car Wash Discount Coupons for Professional’s Regular Car Wash option ($8.00/wash retail).

Madison Public Schools Superintendent David J. Klein reports that the Madison school district student absenteeism rate has continued to decrease each day since last Wednesday (October 28). Absenteeism rates were as follows:

Wednesday, October 28th – 13%
Thursday, October 29th – 12.1 %
Friday, October 30th – 9.5%
Monday, November 2nd – 9.3%
Wednesday, November 4th – 6.9%

Klein said that the district has not experienced abnormally elevated levels of staff absenteeism to date, and he is hoping that the positive trend will continue.

Congratulations to incoming Madison First Selectman Fillmore McPherson and to all of the victorious candidates in Tuesday’s election. Congratulations, too, to all of the unsuccessful candidates, who cared enough to give it a shot, and to the everyone who took the time and effort to vote.